Philosophy: Wisdom (Part 2)

/wɪzdəm/

The
quality or state of being wise; knowledge of what is true or right
coupled with just judgment as to action; sagacity, discernment, or
insight.

Scholarly knowledge or learning: the wisdom of the schools.

Wise sayings or teachings; precepts.

a wise act or saying.

My personal definition is:

The knowledge of how to use the knowledge you have.

Below
are several quotations from many individuals across various time
periods and locations around the world. As you read them, ponder the
wisdom in them.

Though
these historical and modern figures are often noted as wise, beware -
Many of these quotations will contradict other wise words in this Hub.
This is for the purpose of exemplifying that wisdom is not universal.

Pythagoras

[c. 582-500 B.C.]

Don't eat your heart.

From Diogenes Laertius, Lives of Eminent Philosophers, VIII, 17

Reason is immortal, all else mortal.

From Diogenes Laertius, Lives of Eminent Philosophers, VIII, 30

Aesop

[fl. c. 550 B.C.]

Appearances often are deceiving.

The Wolf in Sheep's Clothing

Do not count your chickens before they are hatched.

The Milkmaid and Her Pail

No act of kindness, no matter how small, is ever wasted.

The Lion and the Mouse

Self-conceit may lead to self-destruction.

The Frog and the Ox

People often grudge others what they cannot enjoy themselves

The Dog in the Manger

I will have nought to do with a man who can blow hot and cold with the same breath.

The Man and the Satyr

Union gives strength.

The Bundle of Sticks

Theognis

[fl. c. 545 B.C.]

One finds many companions for food and drink, but in a serious business a man's companions are very few.

Elegies, 115

Adopt the character of the twisting octopus, which takes on the appearance the nearby rock. Now follow in this direction, now turn a different hue.

Elegies, 215

No man takes with him to Hades all his exceeding wealth.

Elegies, 725

Bright youth passes swiftly as a thought.

Elegies, 985

Xenophanes

[c. 570-475 B.C.]

It takes a wise man to recognize a wise man.

From Diogenes Laertius, Lives of Eminent Philosophers, IX

Simonides

[c. 556-468 B.C.]

It is hard to be truly excellent, four-square in hand and foot and mind, formed without blemish.

Fragment 4

The city is the teacher of the man.

Fragment 53

Painting is silent poetry, and poetry painting that speaks.

From Plutarch, De Gloria Antheniensium, III, 346

Confucious

[551-479 B.C.]

Fine words and an insinuating appearance are seldom associated with true virtue.

The Confucian Analects, 1:3

A youth, when at home, should be filial, and, abroad, respectful to his elders.

The Confucian Analects, 1:6

Hold faithfulness and sincerity as first principles.

The Confucian Analects, 1:8, ii

Have no friends not equal to yourself.

The Confucian Analects, 1:8, iii

[The superior man] acts before he speaks, and afterward speaks according to his actions.

The Confucian Analects, 2:13

The cautious seldom err.

The Confucian Analects, 4:23

Is virtue a thing remote? I wish to be virtuous, and lo! virtue is at hand.

The Confucian Analects, 7:29

To go beyond is as wrong as to fall short.

The Confucian Analects, 11:15, iii

He who speaks without modesty will find it difficult to make his words good.

The Confucian Analects, 14:21

What you do not want done to yourself, do not do to others.

The Confucian Analects, 15:23

Without knowing the force of words, it is impossible to know men.

The Confucian Analects, 20:3, iii

Heraclitus

[c. 540-480 B.C.]

All is flux, nothing stays still.

From Diogenes Laertius, Lives of Eminent Philosophers, IX, 8

Nature is wont to hide herself.

On the Universe, 10

God is day and night, inder and summer, war and peace, surfeit and hunger.

On the Universe, 36

The road up and the road down are one and the same.

On the Universe, 69

Man, like a light in the night, is kindled and put out.

On the Universe, 77

It is better to hide ignorance, but it is hard to do this when we relax over wine.

On the Universe, 108

A man's character is his fate.

On the Universe, 121

Pindar

[c. 518-c. 438 B.C.]

Do not peer too far.

Olympian Odes, I, 184

I will not steep my speech in lies; the test of any man lies in action.

Olympian Odes, IV, 27

The issue is in God's hands.

Olympian Odes, XIII, 147

Words have a longer life than deeds.

Nemean Odes, IV, 10

Unsung, the noblest deed will die.

Fragment 120

What is God? Everything.

Fragment 140d

Anaxagoras

[c. 500-428 B.C.]

The descent to Hades is the same from every place.

From Diogenes Laertius, Lives of Eminent Philosophers, Anaxagoras, 2

The Pali Canon

[c. 500-c. 250 B.C.]

All that is comes from the mind; it is based on the mind, it is fashioned by the mind.

Suttapitaka. Dhammapada, 1:1

Avoid what is evil; do what is good; purify the mind - this is the teaching of the Awakened One [Buddha].

Suttapitaka. Dhammapada, 14:183

Be lamps unto yourselves. Be a refuge unto yourselves. Do not turn to any external refuge. Hold fast to the teaching as a lamp.

Suttapitaka. Mahaparinibbana-sutta, 2:33

This noble eightfold path ... right views, right aspirations, right speech, right conduct, right livelihood, right effort, right mindfulness, and right contemplation.

This website uses cookies

As a user in the EEA, your approval is needed on a few things. To provide a better website experience, hubpages.com uses cookies (and other similar technologies) and may collect, process, and share personal data. Please choose which areas of our service you consent to our doing so.

This is used to display charts and graphs on articles and the author center. (Privacy Policy)

Google AdSense Host API

This service allows you to sign up for or associate a Google AdSense account with HubPages, so that you can earn money from ads on your articles. No data is shared unless you engage with this feature. (Privacy Policy)

This is used for a registered author who enrolls in the HubPages Earnings program and requests to be paid via PayPal. No data is shared with Paypal unless you engage with this feature. (Privacy Policy)

Facebook Login

You can use this to streamline signing up for, or signing in to your Hubpages account. No data is shared with Facebook unless you engage with this feature. (Privacy Policy)

Maven

This supports the Maven widget and search functionality. (Privacy Policy)

We may use remarketing pixels from advertising networks such as Google AdWords, Bing Ads, and Facebook in order to advertise the HubPages Service to people that have visited our sites.

Conversion Tracking Pixels

We may use conversion tracking pixels from advertising networks such as Google AdWords, Bing Ads, and Facebook in order to identify when an advertisement has successfully resulted in the desired action, such as signing up for the HubPages Service or publishing an article on the HubPages Service.

Statistics

Author Google Analytics

This is used to provide traffic data and reports to the authors of articles on the HubPages Service. (Privacy Policy)

Comscore

ComScore is a media measurement and analytics company providing marketing data and analytics to enterprises, media and advertising agencies, and publishers. Non-consent will result in ComScore only processing obfuscated personal data. (Privacy Policy)

Amazon Tracking Pixel

Some articles display amazon products as part of the Amazon Affiliate program, this pixel provides traffic statistics for those products (Privacy Policy)